Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club Info & Discussion Forum

I have a dumb (not Smart) 12/120 volt TV in my BF. I would like to upgrade both the TV and the input. I most likely can add a Roku to receive streaming services, but what about input.? I came across this online comment last March.

“ We use a cell phone as a dedicated hotspot for our RV. It's on Visible Wireless (a Verizon company) we stream all our TV, media and have 24/7 internet on a private Wi-Fi network. Total cost per month $25.00, unlimited data even tethered or used as hotspot.”

Comments on this service, alternatives? Any idea what a “private Wi-fi” is? Thanks for any help.

Dallas I would double check if you could still get hotspot unlimited data that is not throttled from Verizon/Visible. If you get throttled after the max data allotted I think it could interfere with streaming TV watching. I have been using T-Mobile "home internet" the past year or so with good luck. It has a small tower and is designed for home internet but I haven't had much trouble when I take it on the road. I turn it on and it finds a T-Mobile cell signal and works well. My T-Mobile is under a "business name/account but it is the same price as home system which right now it is $50/month for unlimited everything. In the few places I can't get a T-Mobile signal I use my ATT phone as a hot spot. Verizon has a similar Home Internet option. On both you have to see if you can sign up from your home address. I finally found a small smart TV and I use a Amazon Firestick in a similar way to a Roku. But I still have Dish at home so I can access the Dish Anywhere app with my Firestick. https://www.t-mobile.com/home-internet
Good luck!
Sandy

I've been a Visible customer for a few years now and it has been great. It's owned by Verizon thus uses the Verizon network. It is the only service I know of that has truly unlimited hotspot data. It is also the cheapest at $25\month total. No added fees or taxes. Some phones limit you to a single connection to the hotspot. My Motorola will allow multiple connections.

We’re currently trying the hotspot capability! Just 1 week into our trip so far though. We have service from spectrum, which uses the Verizon network. They do say they throttle after a certain amount of data or hotspot usage. But we have not hit that yet. However, a neighbor and fellow camper said he used his Verizon hotspot to stream all month. So we’ll know more in 20 days. But so far, streaming through the hotspot has worked fine.

Regarding the ‘private wi if’. What I believe they are referring to is that when you tie into your hotspot, you have your own WiFi network, vs the privacy risks of using public campground WiFi. What we also do to get a private WiFi is we have our own router and antenna, that picks up campground WiFi, then creates our own network in the RV. This way, your Roku, or any other devices remember your private network, so when moving between campgrounds, and you don’t need to log in the various devices again to a different campground network. You just log in the router. Plus, you get the benefits of security and privacy of your own network. I just followed a nice setup video by another camper online, and components were about $100 years ago. If you are interested, look up Private RV WiFi, outside our bubble. He provides a good explanation for us non computer folks. I think there a simpler but more expensive setups. He chose some small, but effective and inexpensive, but quality components.